Description

A "currency" rate involves the price of the base currency (e.g., the dollar) quoted in terms of another currency (e.g., the yen), or in terms of a basket of currencies (e.g., the dollar index). The world's major currencies have traded in a floating exchange rate regime ever since the Bretton-Woods international payments system broke down in 1971 when President Nixon broke the dollar's peg to gold. The two key factors affecting a currency's value are central bank monetary policy and the trade balance. An easy monetary policy (low interest rates) is bearish for a currency because the central bank is aggressively pumping new currency reserves into the marketplace and because foreign investors are not attracted to the low interest rate returns available in the country. By contrast, a tight monetary policy (high interest rates) is bullish for a currency because of the tight supply of new currency reserves and attractive interest rate returns for foreign investors.

The other key factor driving currency values is the nation's current account balance. A current account surplus is bullish for a currency due to the net inflow of the currency, while a current account deficit is bearish for a currency due to the net outflow of the currency. Currency values are also affected by economic growth and investment opportunities in the country. A country with a strong economy and lucrative investment opportunities will typically have a strong currency because global companies and investors want to buy into that country's investment opportunities. Futures on major currencies and on cross-currency rates are traded primarily at the CME Group.

Dollar - The dollar index (Barchart.com symbol DXY00) fell to a 4-year low in early 2018 but then rallied through the remainder of the year and closed 2018 up +4.4% yr/yr. The dollar's rally in 2018 was limited and the dollar index was unable to fully recover the 2017 sell-off and indeed remained well below the 16-year high posted in early 2017. The dollar index was supported in 2018 by the strong U.S. economy and by the four interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. economy in 2018 showed strong GDP growth of +2.9% due to the stimulus from the massive personal and corporate tax cuts that took effect on January 1, 2018. Meanwhile, the Fed during 2018 raised its federal funds rate target by a total of one percentage point to a new range of 2.25%/2.50% by December 2018. That sharp one percentage rate hike, compared with no rate hikes by Europe or Japan, produced a big improvement in the dollar's interest rate differentials, which was a major supportive factor for the dollar index. The Fed also tightened monetary policy during 2018 by reducing the size of its balance sheet, thus tightening liquidity. However, the dollar's rally ran out of steam late in 2018 as it became clear that the Fed would have to halt its rate-hike regime in response to the slowing global economy and the steep downward correction in stocks seen in Q4-2018. Indeed, the Fed at its meeting in January 2019 dropped its guidance for higher interest rates and moved to a neutral policy, thus undercutting the dollar index.

Euro - EUR/USD (Barchart.com symbol ^EURUSD) posted a 4-year high in early 2018 on an extension of the rally seen in 2017. However, EUR/USD then faded during the remainder of 2018 and closed the year down -4.5% yr/yr. EUR/USD was generally weak during 2018 as the European Central Bank (ECB) maintained a highly stimulative monetary policy while the Federal Reserve was in the process of raising U.S. interest rates by one percentage point. The ECB tapered its quantitative easing program during 2018 and ended the program altogether in December 2018, which was a supportive factor for the euro. On the interest rate front, however, the ECB was forced to promise that it would not raise interest rates until at least summer 2019, a promise that the ECB in early 2019 then extended to the end of 2019. The Eurozone economy weakened during 2018 in response to (1) trade tensions, (2) a temporary downdraft in the German auto industry in Q3, and (3) a technical recession in Italy in the second half of 2018 due to the high bond yields that resulted in early 2018 from the populist Italian government's attempt to implement a deficit-busting budget that was rejected by the European Commission.

Yen - USD/JPY (Barchart.com symbol ^USDJPY) fell to a 2-year low in early 2018 but then recovered to close the year down -2.6% yr/yr, meaning that the yen closed the year up +2.6% against the dollar. The yen showed weakness in 2018 from April through September since the Bank of Japan maintained its extraordinarily easy monetary policy all during 2018 while the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. The Bank of Japan during 2018 continued the policy it adopted in September 2016 of yield-curve control (YCC) where it targeted the 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield near zero and its short-term policy rate at -0.1%. The yen therefore suffered from very poor interest rate differentials against the dollar all year. However, the BOJ did engage in some stealth tapering of its bond-buying program since not as much bond buying was necessary to keep the 10-year JGB yield near its target of zero, which was a supportive factor for the yen. The yen was also supported late in 2018 by some flight-to-quality buying as the global stock markets took a steep dive in late 2018.

Information on commodities is courtesy of the CRB Yearbook, the single most comprehensive source of commodity and futures market information available. Its sources - reports from governments, private industries, and trade and industrial associations - are authoritative, and its historical scope for commodities information is second to none. The CRB Yearbook is part of the cmdty product line. Please visit cmdty for all of your commodity data needs.

The Profile page gives you general information about a symbol, whether it's about the company or the contract. Barchart shows different data on the Profile page, depending on the symbol's asset type.

Stocks

A stock's Profile page contains general information about the stock, such as Ticker Symbol, Exchange traded on, Company Contact Address/Phone, CEO/President, and Company Description. It also includes links to the Industry, Sector, and Index in which the stock belongs: the SIC or the Standard Industrial Classification code, industry groups, and major-market indices including the three Dow Jones indices and their composite, the Nasdaq 100, and the S&P 500, 100 and 400. For stocks, all fundamental information is provided by Zachs Investment Research.

Key Statistics

Market Capitalization, $K: capitalization or market value of a stock is simply the market value of all outstanding shares. It is computed by multiplying the market price by the number of outstanding shares. For example, a publicly held company with 10 million shares outstanding that trade at $10 each would have a market capitalization of $100 million.

Shares Outstanding, K: Common shares outstanding as reported by the company on the 10-Q or 10-K.

Last Quarter Sales, $: The last quarter's sales, expressed in millions of dollars.

Last Quarter Net Income, $: The last quarter's net income, expressed in millions of dollars.

60-Month Beta: Coefficient that measures the volatility of a stock's returns relative to the market (S&P 500). It is based on a 60-month historical regression of the return on the stock onto the return on the S&P 500.

% of Institutional Shareholders: The percent of ownership held by large financial institutions or organizations.

Float, K: Shares a company has issued that are available to trade (shares outstanding - restricted stock).

% Float: The percentage of regular shares available to trade.

Growth Table

The 1-3- and 5-Year Returns are adjusted for splits.

Per-Share Information

Most Recent Earnings: The amount of latest Earnings Per Share (EPS) paid out to shareholders and the date paid. Most Recent Earnings figures are based on Non-GAAP income from continuing operations.

Next Earnings Date: The next reported earnings date.

Earnings Per Share: The trailing 12 months EPS from total operations is the bottom line income after all expenses, divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. For example, if a company has $10 million in net income and 10 million in outstanding shares, then its EPS is $1.

Annual Dividend Rate: The indicated annual dividend, calculated from the latest dividend. For ETFs, the annual dividend is for the trailing twleve months. The dividend rate is the portion of a company's profit paid to shareholders, quoted as the dollar amount each share receives (dividends per share).

Annual Dividend Yield: The indicated annual dividend yield, calculated from the latest dividend. Yield is the amount of dividends paid per share, divided by the closing price.

Most Recent Dividend: The most recent dividend paid and the most recent dividend date.

Next Ex-Dividends Date: Shareholders on record as of this date are entitled to any dividend paid.

Dividend Payable Date: The date on which the next dividend is estimated to be paid.

Dividend Payout Ratio: Latest dividend payout is the % of net income paid to stockholders in dividends.

Most Recent Split: The share split recorded and the date on which the split occurred.

ETFs

An ETF Profile page also shows general information about the fund, but also adds information such as a link to the Fund Family. the Underlying Index. Inception Date, First Trade Date, and Leverage.

Investment Information Table

The YTD, 1-3- and 5-Year Returns are adjusted for dividends and splits.

Futures

A Profile for a commodities contract contains the Contract Specifications. Specifications include:

Symbol - the root symbol for the commodity.

Name - the commodity description

Exchange - the exchange on which the commodity is traded.

Months - A specific month in which delivery may take place under the terms of a futures contract. Commodity exchanges typically refer to months using one letter:

January = F

February = G

March = H

April = J

May = K

June = M

July = N

August = Q

September = U

October = V

November = X

December = Z

Size - (sometimes referred to as Trading Unit) refers to the unit of measure in which the contract is traded. Common abbreviations you'll see include:

bu = bushel

lbs = pounds

cwt = hundred weight

bbl = barrel

gal = gallon

mm btu = million British thermal units

bd = board foot

oz = ounce

M = million

ct = cents

pt = point

Tick Size - the smallest allowable increment of price movement for a contract.

Daily Limit - the maximum gain or loss that the commodity is permitted to reach for a given trading session.

Trading Hours - the days and hours in which the commodity is traded.

Last Trading Day - the day in which trading terminates for this commodity for each Trading Month.

Value of one futures unit - a measure of one basis point change in the futures price.

Value of one options unit - a measure of one basis point change in the options price.